Jesse Hogan

Michael Clarke admitted Australia faced an "uphill battle" to win the second Test at St George's Park, with the home team boasting a lead of 369 runs with six second-innings wickets in hand for the remaining two days of the match.

"We haven't bowled as well as we would have liked and we certainly haven't batted anywhere near as well as we need to to have a chance of winning this Test," Clarke said.

Clarke said he has challenged himself and his fellow batsmen to finish the second innings in Port Elizabeth by making South Africa's bowlers work harder.

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Clarke's dismissal for 19 earlier in the day was arguably Australia's worst for the match, as the Test captain spooned a catch to cover off Vernon Philander.

In a post match press conference, the skipper decried his "extremely poor" shot selection amid other batting errors from the visitors.

Asked about Australia's position in the match with two days remaining, Clarke replied: "I think we can still win. It's obviously going to be an uphill battle, there's no doubt about that, but that will be determined by how many runs we have to chase I guess."

The cause of Australia's vast deficit was it managing only 246 in response to the Proteas' first innings of 423, surviving for just under a third of the 150.5 overs the Proteas did in their first innings.

While Mitch Johnson was clearly the most threatening bowler in the first Test in Centurion in Port Elizabeth that mantle has been taken by Morne Morkel. The towering right-armer achieved significant bounce from a pitch that had appeared docile throughout the home team's first innings, often striking Australian batsmen to the body in claiming 3-63 from 17 hostile overs.

Morkel rejected suggestions his approach was payback for left-armer Johnson's similar tactics to the Proteas' batsmen last week.

"The reason I bowled the majority of my overs around the wicket at him was I just felt it gave me a little bit more of an option. It was a different angle, and an awkward angle to face.

"We experienced our fair share [of that type of bowling] in Centurion and on this sort of wicket you need to try those sort of things. It worked nicely for me."

The two complicating factors for South Africa pursuing victory, which is necessary to keep alive the possibility of it securing a home series win against Australia for the first time since the team's readmission, are the weather and a minor groin injury that is set to prevent left-armer Wayne Parnell from bowling for the rest of this match. The weather forecast says there is an 80 per cent chance of rain on the final day.

"It's a big blow. Wayne knows these conditions very, very well and the way he started off was good - his first spell was fantastic. He's also a guy that can swing the ball," Morkel said.

"Unfortunately it doesn't look like Wayne is going to bowl so we need to take a look at overs, and workloads and those sorts of things. But at the end of the day there's a Test match there to be won and if we have to put that extra bit of effort in then the bowling unit will do that."

Morkel admitted the unfavourable forecast would affect when the team decided to declare, although he added that "it always seems that 450 is the magic number when it comes to declarations".

"We need to bat smartly. I think there's a bit of rain forecast for Monday . . . [it] is not looking too great. But the most important thing is we respect the game now, session by session. We need to start well tomorrow and assess it from there," the paceman said.

Clarke argued the absence of Parnell could have a bigger influence on the result than the weather, but warned that would only happen if Australia's batsmen could survive long enough to tire Morkel and his fellow fast-bowlers Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander.

"I don't think we can worry too much about the weather, I think that will take care of itself. But if Parnell's not fit to bowl I think that will have an impact, there's no doubt about it.

"But we've got to be able to take our batting as deep as possible," he said.

"If you've only got three fast-bowlers and you're bringing them back for their third and fourth spells you're giving yourself a chance. We didn't do that in the first innings."

32 comments so far

It may well be an uphill battle, however its high time you as a Captain started to lead the way by getting some runs. Many others have been dropped on poorer from than yours.

Commenter

Ted

Date and time

February 23, 2014, 4:45AM

"Many others have been dropped on poorer form than yours." I'm sure you are correct. Poor form is usually a fair reason for being dropped.

Commenter

State the Obvious

Date and time

February 23, 2014, 10:19AM

Yeah - he's on a lean patch. He's averaging 39 for the past year, and average 90 the year before that. What a shocker.

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BMan222222

Date and time

February 23, 2014, 10:47AM

They were dropped because they did not fit into 'Team Clarke'. It had nothing to do with their batting ability. Katich is a case in point.

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jim

Date and time

February 23, 2014, 11:58AM

Ted, since becoming Captain Clarke has led the way more often than not. He may be in a mini form slump at the moment it happens. Up until this innings Amla had been struggling. Maybe it's time the other bats in our Test team become more consistant

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Armchair Selector

Date and time

February 23, 2014, 12:22PM

Please tell me that photo isn't Clarke condescendingly showing Smith the way to the change room?? If it is, what a numpty and pathetic sportsmanship. It's not like he's setting the scoreboard on fire!! I'm looking forward to when Clarke retires - he's painfully arrogant (after winning one series in 12 months!) and the poorest of losers who chokes on humble pie to the extent he can't acknowledge the achievements of other teams - putting a potential thrashing down to poor decision-making by the Aussies.

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Rawbrawn

Date and time

February 23, 2014, 4:50AM

One probable loss and the 'we hate Michael Clarke' brigade is out again.

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Rawbrain

Date and time

February 23, 2014, 5:16AM

Amla is currently the world's best batsman.And he gets his runs batting at three,he plays many match winning innings.clarke is a flat track bully hiding down the batting order with scant match saving innings.Apart from a rrecent un of innings where he got runs (also had many lives at the same time) I cannot recall a batsman that has been kept in the team for so long with such poor performances (maybe J Langer)- check out his batting under Ponting - Ricky's record would look quite different had clarke got runs when they were needed.As for his petulant behaviour and "broken arm" supercillious twaddle his actions speak louder than any words I may be able to type out here.I will toast his exit from cricket as well Rawbrawn.Have they anointed a future captain, in the same way they prematurely did with clarke, or was that just a special treat that hilditch doled out?

Commenter

nkelly

Date and time

February 23, 2014, 7:50AM

OK, you asked for it:

That photo isn't Clarke condescendingly showing Smith the way to the change room

As to the rest of your comment, it is now obsolete by definition.

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Master Blaster

Date and time

February 23, 2014, 10:38AM

Clarke- haters are back, and the match isn't even over. Six wins in a row not enough?